System, method and program for setting wage for call center personnel

ABSTRACT

System, method and program product for dynamically setting a wage offered to a multiplicity of inactive call center personnel. First program instructions automatically estimate a wait time for calls to a call center. The calls are handled by a plurality of active call center personnel. Second program instructions automatically determine and set a wage, based in part on the estimated wait time, offered to inactive call center personnel to induce them to become active call center personnel to handle calls. Third program instructions, responsive to a request by an inactive call center person to become active at said wage, automatically designate the requesting inactive call center person as active at the wage and assign a call to the requesting inactive call center personnel that was designated as active. Program instructions also set a renewal wage paid to active call center personnel, based in part on the estimated wait time, to induce the active call center personnel to remain active.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation application of copending U.S. Ser.No. 11/777,571 which was filed on Jul. 13, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to call centers, and morespecifically to an automated technique for setting a wage for callcenter personnel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Call centers are well known today to handle a variety of requests orproblems. For example, some call centers in the form of “help desks”assist customers with problems with their computer hardware or softwareor other products. Other call centers assist customers with purchasingproducts or services or in billing matters or provide information aboutproducts or services. A large call center typically employs manypersonnel to assist the caller, to help fix a problem, answer thecallers' questions or transact business. A large call center may employpersonnel with different skills to match the service requested by thecaller. There are many known techniques to route a call to a qualifiedcall center personnel such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,122 andU.S. Pat. No. 6,763,104. U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,055 determines a need foradditional call center personnel based on the number of dropped calls,i.e. a call that is not answered fast enough to satisfy the customerwhere the caller hangs up before the call is answered. U.S. Pat. No.6,188,673 determines staffing requirements for a call center based onpredicted call volume. JP2003-150891A sets wages of call centerpersonnel based on their skill level.

While the foregoing techniques improve call center operation, they donot set the wage for call center personnel in an optimum manner.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to optimize the wagesfor call center personnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in a system, method and program productfor dynamically setting a wage offered to a multiplicity of inactivecall center personnel. First program instructions automatically estimatea wait time for calls to a call center. The calls are handled by aplurality of active call center personnel. Second program instructionsautomatically determine and set a wage, based in part on the estimatedwait time, offered to inactive call center personnel to induce them tobecome active call center personnel to handle calls. Third programinstructions, responsive to a request by an inactive call center personto become active at said wage, automatically designate the requestinginactive call center person as active at the wage and assign a call tothe requesting inactive call center personnel that was designated asactive.

According to a feature of the present invention, the second programinstructions are responsive to the estimated wait time being greaterthan an upper threshold to determine and set the wage offered toinactive call center personnel to be higher than a wage offered toinactive call center personnel during an immediately prior interval.

According to another feature of the present invention, the secondprogram instructions are responsive to the estimated wait time beingless than a lower threshold to determine and set the wage offered toinactive call center personnel to be lower than a wage offered toinactive call center personnel during an immediately prior interval.

The present invention also resides in a system, method and computerprogram product for dynamically setting a wage offered to a multiplicityof active-status call center personnel. First program instructionsautomatically estimate a wait time for calls to a call center. The callsare handled by a plurality of active-status call center personnel.Second program instructions automatically determine and set a renewalwage, based in part on the estimated wait time, offered to theactive-status call center personnel to renew their active status andthereby continue to handle calls after expiration of respective lock-inperiods for the active-status call center personnel in which wages paidto the active call center personnel are fixed. Third programinstructions are responsive to expiration of the respective lock-inperiods and explicit or implicit indications by the respective active-status call center personnel to renew their active-status at theexpiration of respective lock-in periods, to automatically set a wagefor the renewing active-status call center personnel at the renewal wageand assign calls to the renewing active-status call center personnel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of wage-setting system, according to thepresent invention, for a call center.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a setup/configuration phase for a wage-settingprogram within the wage setting system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of function and operation of the wage-settingprogram within the wage setting system of FIG. 1 in dynamicallydetermining and setting the wage offered to inactive call centerpersonnel and to active call center personnel who have reached an end totheir lock-in period.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of function and operation of the wage-settingprogram within the wage setting system of FIG. 1 in designating enrolledcall center personnel as active or inactive, as requested by the callcenter personnel, and tallying their wages as they are earned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe figures. FIG. 1 illustrates a wage setting system generallydesignated 10 for a call center. System 10 includes a call center server20 with a known CPU 21, operating system 22, RAM 23 and ROM 24 on acommon bus 25 and storage 26. System 10 also includes a known callrouting program 28 which routes calls to available, qualified callcenter personnel based on their skill type (compared to the skillrequired to handle the call), cost and availability. There are manyknown algorithms that can be implemented by call routing program 48,such as to route the call to the next available call center personnelwith the requisite skill level or to route the call to the longestwaiting call center personnel with the requisite skill level. Callrouting program 28 can route the calls based in part on informationprovided by the caller describing the nature of the call. For example,call routing program 28 can make a series of telephone prompts tocallers 40 a,b via respective telephones 41 a,b (via a telephone network45) to identify the nature of the problem, or requested help,information, transaction or other service. For example, in the case of acomputer help desk, the telephone prompts can elicit from the caller thetype of product for which the caller needs help such as the type ofcomputer hardware or software for which the caller is experiencing aproblem or needs other assistance. In the case of a request for productinformation, the telephone prompts can elicit from the caller the typeof product for which the caller needs information. In the case of arequest to perform a service such as pay a bill or turn-on or repaircable television, the telephone prompts can elicit from the caller thetype of service requested and the type of product requiring orassociated with the service. The telephone prompts can elicit a widerange of information needed to route the call to a qualified call centerperson. With the foregoing information and a listing 29 of available andactive service people and their respective skills, the call routingprogram 28 can route the call to a person having the requisite skillsand resources to provide the help, product information, transaction orother type of service. Similarly, callers 40 c,d using workstations 42c,d can electronically request help, information, a transaction or aservice via Internet 50 to call routing program 28, and in response,call routing program 28 provides a data input screen such as a web pageby which the caller specifies the nature of the problem or requestedhelp, information, transaction or other service. For example, in thecase of a help desk, the data input screen can elicit from the callerthe type of product for which the caller needs help such as the type ofcomputer hardware or software. In the case of a request for productinformation, the data input screen can elicit from the caller the typeof product for which the caller needs information. In the case of arequest to perform a service such as pay a bill or turn-on or repaircable television, the data input screen can elicit from the caller thetype of service requested and the type of product requiring orassociated with the service. With the foregoing information and listing29 of available and active service people and their respective skills,the call routing program 28 can route the call to a person having therequisite skills and resources to provide the help, product information,transaction or other type of service. The foregoing features of computer20 are Prior Art.

In accordance with the present invention, computer 20 includes awage-setting server program 48 to dynamically determine and set the wagefor call center personnel based on demand for new call center personnel,i.e. the need for additional or fewer call center personnel to handlethe current rate of calls. There is an existing pool of enrolled andactive call center personnel 80 a-1 (with telephones 88 a-1 andworkstations 60 a-1), as well as an existing pool of enrolled butinactive call center personnel 80 m-z (with telephones 88 m-z andworkstations 60 m-z). All of enrolled personnel 80 a-z have passedhiring criteria by the owner of the call center and classified by skilltype. In one embodiment of the present invention, all of the enrolledcall center personnel are entitled to join the pool at any time or exitthe pool at any time (after they complete their current call) based onthe applicable wage. (In another embodiment of the present invention, ifthe current call volume is low and can readily be handled by theexisting pool of active call center personnel with a minimum wait time,then wage-setting program 48 prevents any enrolled inactive call centerpersonnel from joining the pool.) If the rate of calls substantiallyexceeds the rate of calls at which the current number and type of activecall center personnel can handle in a timely manner, then program 48will increase the wage (such as an hourly wage or per-call fee) toattract additional enrolled but currently inactive call center personnelof appropriate skill type to join the pool of existing active callcenter personnel. Conversely, if the rate of calls is substantially lessthan the rate of calls at which the current number and type of callcenter personnel can handle in a timely manner, then program 48 willdecrease the wage (such as the hourly wage or per-call fee) to inducesome of the existing active call center personnel of the appropriateskill type to exit the pool and become inactive and dissuade other,inactive call center personnel from joining the pool.

Workstations 60 a-z of the enrolled call center personnel 80 a-z,respectively, include known CPUs 61 a-z, operating systems 62 a-z, RAM63 a-z and ROM 64 a-z on common busses 65 a-z, and storage 66 a-z,respectively. Workstations 60 a-z of the enrolled call center personnel80 a-z, respectively, also include respective wage-reviewing clientprograms 75 a-z, according to the present invention. Programs 75 a-zinitiate display on the respective workstations 60 a-z of respective webpages or other screens listing the current wage offered to enrolled,inactive call center personnel and a “lock-in” time, i.e. a time that anenrolled, inactive call center personnel will be paid the current wageif he or she joins the pool of active call center personnel. Forexample, the “lock-in” time can be one hour. With this information andusing the web page or other screen, an enrolled but inactive call centerpersonnel can join the pool and become active to receive and handlecalls. Also, when the lock-in period ends for an enrolled, active callcenter personnel, he or she will see the current wage being offered tohim or her as a renewal. In this embodiment of the present invention, atthe end of the lock-in period for each active call center person,program 48 will reset the wage paid to such enrolled, active call centerpersonnel to the wage offered to enrolled, inactive call centerpersonnel (assuming the active employee remains active). Also, programs75 a-z will display a running tally of wages earned by the respectivecall center personnel during the day, an itemization of the hourly wagespaid to the respective call center personnel during the day and a graphof the wages available to enrolled but inactive call center personnel asa function of time during the course of the day. The enrolledcall-center personnel can also configure their respective programs 75a-z to provide an audible notification, e-mail, telephone call or pageif the current wage offered to enrolled, inactive call center personnelequals or exceeds an amount configured by the respective enrolledinactive call-center personnel.

FIG. 2 illustrates a set up/configuration phase for wage-setting serverprogram 48. In step 100, an administrator for computer 20 invokesprogram 48 for set-up/configuration. In response, program 48 queries theadministrator to specify a minimum wage, maximum wage and initial wageto be offered at start up of program 48 (step 102). Program 48 alsoqueries the administrator to specify the wage “lock-in” period, such asone hour, an upper threshold for call center wait time, a lowerthreshold for call center wait time, wage increment/decrement amount(s)and wage review interval (step 104). The wage increment amount is theamount by which program 48 increases the current wage when the callcenter demand substantially exceeds the handling capacity of the activecall center personnel (for each skill) such that the estimated callcenter wait time exceeds the upper threshold. The wage decrement amountis the amount by which program 48 decreases the current wage when thecall center demand is substantially less than the handling capacity ofthe active call center personnel (for each skill) such that theestimated call center wait time is less than the lower threshold. In theillustrated embodiment, the increment amount is the same as thedecrement amount, but in another embodiment of the present inventionthey are different from each other. The wage review interval, such asone minute, is the interval at which program 48 reevaluates the callcenter wait time to determine if more or fewer call center personnel areneeded, and therefore, whether the wage should be increased, decreasedor unchanged. If the call center wait time exceeds the upper threshold,then more call center personnel are needed and program 48 increases thecurrent wage offered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel.Conversely, if the call center wait time is less than the lowerthreshold, then fewer call center personnel are needed and program 48decreases the current wage offered to enrolled but inactive personnel(and may prevent enrolled but inactive personnel from joining the poolof active call center personnel). Program 48 also queries theadministrator for any additions, deletions or changes to the list ofenrolled call center personnel (step 106). The changes can be change inskill level, skill specialty, languages spoken, address, contactinformation, etc.

FIG. 3 illustrates in more detail the function and operation ofwage-setting server program 48, after setup/configuration, indynamically setting the wage offered to enrolled but inactive callcenter personnel, and to enrolled active call center personnel whoselock-in period has just ended, as described above. In decision 200,program 48 determines if this is initial startup of program 48. If so(decision 200, yes branch), program 48 sets the wage to the initial wage(step 204). If not (decision 200, no branch), then program 48 estimatesthe current call center wait time for each skill type (step 206). Forexample, program 48 can estimate the current call center wait time foreach skill type by counting the number of waiting calls in eachskill-based queue and multiplying the number of waiting calls in eachskill-based queue by the average time to handle the respective type ofcall, and dividing the result by the number of enrolled active calltakers assigned to that queue . Alternately, program 48 can estimate thecurrent call center wait time for each skill type by tracking andaveraging the actual wait time for calls to each skill type during thelast predetermined period. Next, program 48 compares the estimated,current wait time for a call center personnel in each skill type to arespective upper threshold (decision 210). If the estimated current waittime exceeds the respective upper threshold (decision 210, yes branch),then program 48 increases, by the configured wage increment, the currentwage to be paid to newly joining, enrolled call center personnel (step212). For any active call center personnel whose lock-in period has justended, program 48 will also set their wage to the current wage offeredto enrolled but inactive call center personnel (step 212). Also, program48 broadcasts the new, current wage to workstations 75 a-z (step 212).If the current wait time for any skill time does not exceed therespective upper threshold (decision 210, no branch), then program 48compares the current wait time for such skill type to the respectivelower threshold (decision 220). If the current wait time for such skilltype is less than the respective lower threshold (decision 220, yesbranch), then program 48 reduces, by the configured wage decrementamount, the current wage offered to enrolled but inactive call centerpersonnel as well as currently active call center personnel whoselock-in period has just ended, and broadcasts the new, current wage toworkstations 75 a-z (step 222). (If so configured during the setupphase, in step 222, program 48 will decrement the wage offered to activecall center personnel who have just completed their lock-in period, andnot allow any inactive call center personnel to join the pool of activecall center personnel.) At the end of the configured wage reviewinterval (decision 230, yes branch), program 48 loops back to step 200to repeat the foregoing steps to determine the then current wage to beoffered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel for each skilltype as well as enrolled but inactive call center personnel whoselock-in period has just ended.

FIG. 4 illustrates in more detail the function and operation ofwage-setting server program 48 in managing enrolled call centerpersonnel as they become active or inactive, and tallying their wagesfor the day. In step 300, program 48 records and adds the wages earnedby each active call center person during the prior wage review interval,based on the wage rate applicable to the respective active call centerperson. In step 302, program 48 checks for notification from any ofworkstations 60 a-z that the respective enrolled call center person optsto change his or her status, i.e. an active call center person opts tobecome inactive or an inactive call center person opts to become active.Upon receipt of notification that an active call center person opts tobecome inactive (decision 304, yes branch), program 48 terminates theaccumulation of wages of such call center person for the session,notifies such call center person accordingly, and invites such callcenter person to rejoin the pool later (step 306). Upon receipt ofnotification that an inactive call center person opts to become active(decision 308, yes branch), program 48 records the start time andcurrent wage for such skill type and updates list 29 with the activestatus of this call center person (step 310). Program 48 also begins totally hours and wages of this active call center person for the day andnotifies this active call center person accordingly (step 310). At theend of each wage review interval (decision 320, yes branch), program 48loops back to step 300 to repeat the foregoing steps 300-320.

As each call arrives at call center server 20, call routing program 28places the call on a queue 31 of waiting calls, determines the type ofskill required to handle the call based on telephone prompts or computerqueries to the caller, and then routes the call to a qualified,enrolled, active call center personnel who is available based on a knowncall routing algorithm. For example, the oldest call on the queue foreach skill type is routed to the longest waiting call center personnelwith the appropriate skill to handle the call.

The following is an example of the function and operation of program 48for calls requiring one skill type. (Similar steps will occur for callsrequiring other skill types.) At initial startup of program 48 at 9:00AM, program 48 sets the current wage to the initial wage of $10/hour forthe skill type and thirty enrolled call center personnel having thisskill type opt to become active. Their wage is set to $10/hour for alock-in period of one hour. The wage increment interval is one minute.From 9:01 AM to 9:09 AM, the estimated call wait time is two minuteswhich is below the upper threshold of four minutes and above the lowerthreshold of 10 seconds, so program 48 does not adjust the current wageoffered to enrolled, inactive call center personnel. At 9:10, theestimated call wait time is six minutes which is above the upperthreshold of four minutes. In response, program 48 increases the currentwage offered to enrolled, inactive call center personnel of therequisite skill by the configured wage increment of $0.25/hour to$10.25/hour. In response, three additional enrolled, inactive callcenter personnel having the requisite skill opt to join the pool andbecome active, and program 48 sets their wage at $10.25/hour for thenext hour. The wage of the first thirty call center personnel remains at$10.00/hour. From 9:11 AM to 9:19 AM the estimated wait time is threeminutes which is below the upper threshold of four minutes and above thelower threshold of 10 seconds, so program 48 does not adjust the currentwage offered to enrolled, inactive call center personnel. At 9:20 AM,the estimated call wait time is five minutes which is above the upperthreshold, so program 48 increases the current wage offered to enrolled,inactive call center personnel by the configured wage increment of$0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 increases the current wage offered toenrolled, inactive call center personnel of the appropriate skill typeto $10.50/hour. In response, two additional enrolled but inactive callcenter personnel having the requisite skill opt to join the pool, andtheir wage is set at $10.50/hour for the next hour. The wage of thefirst thirty call center personnel remains at $10.00/hour, and the wagefor the next three call center personnel which joined the pool at time9:10 AM remains at $10.25/hour. From 9:21 AM to 9:54 AM, the estimatedwait time is two minutes which is below the upper threshold of fourminutes and above the lower threshold of 10 seconds, so program 48 doesnot adjust the current wage offered to enrolled but inactive call centerpersonnel. At 9:55 AM the estimated wait time is five seconds which isbelow the lower threshold of ten seconds, so program 48 decreases thecurrent wage offered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel bythe configured wage decrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 decreasesthe current wage offered to enrolled but inactive call center personnelto $10.25/hour. In response, two enrolled but inactive call centerpersonnel opt to become active and one enrolled active call-taker, whobecame active at 9:00 AM, decides to end his or her current session andsigns off of the system, thereby becoming inactive. This call-taker'swage for this session is calculated as the sum of the hours logged intothe system at the respective lock-in rates. Since this call-taker loggedin at 9:00 AM at an offered wage of $10.00/hour, his or her wage iscalculated as 0.92 hours×$10.00=$9.20. Program 48 designates the two,newly enrolled call-takers as active at $10.25/hour. At 9:56 AM theestimated wait time is four seconds which is below the lower thresholdof ten seconds, so program 48 decreases the current wage offered toenrolled but inactive call center personnel by the configured wagedecrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 decreases the current wageoffered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel to $10.00/hour.In response, two more enrolled but inactive call center personnel opt tobecome active. Program 48 designates them as active at $10.00/hour. At9:57 AM the estimated wait time is two seconds which is below the lowerthreshold of ten seconds, so program 48 decreases the current wageoffered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel by the configuredwage decrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 decreases the currentwage offered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel to$9.75/hour. In response, one enrolled but inactive call center personnelopts to become active. In one embodiment of the present invention,program 48 designates him or her as active at $9.75/hour. At 9:58 AM theestimated wait time is two seconds which is below the lower threshold often seconds, so program 48 decreases the current wage offered toenrolled but inactive call center personnel by the configured wagedecrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 decreases the current wageoffered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel to $9.50/hour. Inresponse, zero enrolled but inactive call center personnel opt to becomeactive at this time. At 9:59 AM the estimated wait time is two secondswhich is below the lower threshold of ten seconds, so program 48decreases the current wage offered to enrolled but inactive call centerpersonnel by the configured wage decrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program48 decreases the current wage offered to enrolled but inactive callcenter personnel to $9.25/hour. In response, zero enrolled but inactivecall center personnel opt to become active at this time. At 10:00 AM theestimated wait time is two seconds which is below the lower threshold often seconds, so program 48 decreases the current wage offered toenrolled but inactive call center personnel by the configured wagedecrement of $0.25/hour. Thus, program 48 decreases the current wageoffered to enrolled but inactive call center personnel to $9.00/hour. Inresponse, zero enrolled but inactive call center personnel opt to becomeactive at this time. Also, at this time, program 48 adjusts the wagepaid to enrolled, active call center personnel who became active at 9:00AM and whose lock-in period has just ended. In response, eight of suchenrolled, active call center personnel opt to become inactive. At 10:01AM, the estimated wait time is twenty seconds which is below the upperthreshold of four minutes and above the lower threshold of 10 seconds,so program 48 does not adjust the current wage offered to enrolled butinactive call center personnel. The foregoing corrective processcontinues as needed to keep the estimated wait time between the upperand lower thresholds.

Wage-setting program 48 can be loaded into call center server 20 from acomputer readable media 70 such as magnetic tape or disk, optical media,DVD, semiconductor memory, memory stick, etc. or downloaded from theInternet via TCP/IP adapter card 72.

Call routing program 28 can be loaded into call center server 20 fromcomputer readable media 70 such as magnetic tape or disk, optical media,DVD, semiconductor memory, memory stick, etc. or downloaded from theInternet via TCP/IP adapter card 72.

Wage-reviewing client programs 75 a-z can be loaded into respectiveclient workstations 60 a-z from respective computer readable media 90a-z such as magnetic tape or disk, optical media, DVD, semiconductormemory, memory stick, etc. or downloaded from the Internet viarespective TCP/IP adapter cards 92 a-z.

Based on the foregoing, a computer system, method and program productfor dynamically setting a wage for call center personnel have beendisclosed. However, numerous modifications and substitutions can be madewithout deviating from the scope of the present invention. For example,program 48 can be modified to automatically adjust the wage of activecall center personnel to the higher of the wage in effect at the startof each of their lock-in periods and the current wage offered toinactive call center personnel. Also, program 48 can be modified toautomatically adjust the wage of active call center personnel to thelower of the wage in effect at the start of each of their lock-inperiods and the current wage offered to inactive call center personnel.Also, program 48 can be modified to automatically adjust the wage ofactive call center personnel to the wage offered to inactive call centerpersonnel during each wage setting interval so the wage paid to activecall center personnel tracks the wage offered to inactive call centerpersonnel. Also, program 48 can automatically reset the wage of activecall center personnel to the wage offered to inactive call centerpersonnel immediately upon a change to the wage offered to inactive callcenter personnel (regardless of when this occurs, even if the change isnot synchronized with the end of a lock-in period of the active callcenter personnel). Also, program 48 can be modified to prevent anyinactive call center personnel from joining the pool and becoming activeif the estimated wait time is below the lower threshold. Also, the wageincrement amount can be variable and based on the amount by which theestimated call wait time exceeds the upper threshold, and the wagedecrement amount can be variable and based on the amount by which theestimated call wait time is below the lower threshold. Therefore, thepresent invention has been disclosed by way of illustration and notlimitation, and reference should be made to the following claims todetermine the scope of the present invention.

1. A computer program product for dynamically setting a wage offered toa multiplicity of active-status call center personnel, the computerprogram product comprising: a computer-readable, tangible storagedevice; first program instructions to automatically estimate a wait timefor a plurality of active-status call center personnel to handle callsto a call center; second program instructions to automatically determineand set a renewal wage, based in part on the estimated wait time,offered to the active-status call center personnel to renew their activestatus and thereby continue to handle calls after expiration ofrespective period(s) for the active-status call center personnel inwhich wages paid to the active call center personnel are fixed; andthird program instructions, responsive to expiration of the respectiveperiod(s) and explicit or implicit indications by the respectiveactive-status call center personnel to renew their active-status at theexpiration of respective period(s), to automatically set the renewalwage for the renewing active-status call center personnel and assigncalls to the renewing active-status call center personnel at the renewalwage; and wherein: the second program instructions are responsive to theestimated wait time being greater than a predetermined, upper thresholdto determine and set the renewal wage offered to the active-status callcenter personnel to be higher than a wage offered to active-status andinactive-status call center personnel during a prior interval in whichthe estimated wait time was lower than the upper threshold; and thefirst, second and third program instructions are stored on thecomputer-readable, tangible storage device.
 2. A computer programproduct for dynamically setting a wage offered to a multiplicity ofactive-status call center personnel, the computer program productcomprising: a computer-readable, tangible storage device; first programinstructions to automatically estimate a wait time for a plurality ofactive-status call center personnel to handle calls to a call center;second program instructions to automatically determine and set a renewalwage, based in part on the estimated wait time, offered to theactive-status call center personnel to renew their active status andthereby continue to handle calls after expiration of respectiveperiod(s) for the active-status call center personnel in which wagespaid to the active call center personnel are fixed; and third programinstructions, responsive to expiration of the respective period(s) andexplicit or implicit indications by the respective active-status callcenter personnel to renew their active-status at the expiration ofrespective period(s), to automatically set the renewal wage for therenewing active-status call center personnel and assign calls to therenewing active-status call center personnel at the renewal wage; andwherein: the second program instructions are responsive to the estimatedwait time being less than a predetermined, lower threshold to determineand set the renewal wage offered to the active-status andinactive-status call center personnel to be lower than a wage offered toactive-status and inactive call center personnel during a prior intervalin which the estimated wait time was greater than the lower threshold;and the first, second and third program instructions are stored on thecomputer-readable, tangible storage device.
 3. A computer programproduct for dynamically setting a wage offered to a multiplicity ofactive-status call center personnel, the computer program productcomprising: a computer-readable, tangible storage device; first programinstructions to automatically estimate a wait time for a plurality ofactive-status call center personnel to handle calls to a call center;second program instructions to automatically determine and set a renewalwage, based in part on the estimated wait time, offered to theactive-status call center personnel to renew their active status andthereby continue to handle calls after expiration of respectiveperiod(s) for the active-status call center personnel in which wagespaid to the active call center personnel are fixed; and third programinstructions, responsive to expiration of the respective period(s) andexplicit or implicit indications by the respective active-status callcenter personnel to renew their active-status at the expiration ofrespective period(s), to automatically set the renewal wage for therenewing active-status call center personnel and assign calls to therenewing active-status call center personnel at the renewal wage; andwherein the program instructions to automatically determine and set arenewal wage are responsive to the estimated wait time being less than apredetermined, lower threshold to determine and set the renewal wageoffered to the active-status and inactive-status call center personnelto be lower than a wage offered to active-status and inactive callcenter personnel during a prior interval in which the estimated waittime was greater than the lower threshold; and the first, second andthird program instructions are stored on the computer-readable, tangiblestorage device.